Adjustable anvil



Patented May 17, 1949 ADJUSTABLE ANVIL Robert F. Hollis, Alton, Ill.,assigner to Alton Box Board Company, Alton, Ill., a corporation ofDelaware Application April 13, 1944, Serial No. 530,919

2 Claims.

This invention relates generallyto adjustable anvils and particularly toanvils adapted for use in connection with Work pieces which aregenerally annular in configuration.

Protective rings for bombs. barrels, pipe and the like are being made ofconvolutions of paper. In a preliminary stage in the manufacture of suchprotective rings a complete annulus is provided. Such an annulus isrequired to be severed so as to provide for adjustment in thecircumference thereof and suitable closure means must be applied to thering.k In the manufacture of such a ring considerable difculty was.experienced in adequately supporting and sustaining the structure`thereof so that it might be worked on with a hammer at various pointsin its circumference., Without, however, fracturing or distorting thering.

The object of the present invention, generally stated, is` to provide anadjustable anvil adapted to enter the interior of a ringli-ke Workpiece.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an anvil which iscapable of radial adjustment.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art when thefollowing description is read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. l is a view in side elevation of a stand provided with one form ofanvil constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the stand shown in Fig. l provided with adifferent form of anvil.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the radial adjustment mechanism of theanvil shown in Fig. 4.

`Fig. 6 is a side view of the anvil shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

In accordance with the present invention, generally stated, a stand isprovided with an anvil supporting member which is adjustable vertically.On the anvil supporting member a suitable anvil is provided. Such ananvil may consist of a cylindrical body, which may be mounted forrotation upon the anvil supporting member or may be fixed relativethereto. 'I'he exterior configuration of the anvil is in each case suchas to substantially conform to the interior conguration of the workpiece to be operated upon and it is desirable to provide a positioningmeans on the anvil whereby the work pieces may be uniformly orientedupon the anvil. When the anvil 2 is mounted for rotation it is alsodesirable to provide means for selectively locking the anvil at variouspositions.

In another form of the anvil according to the present invention aplurality of anvil surfaces are provided which are radially adjustablerelative to each other. Any suitable means for expanding and contractingthe anvi1 members may be provided; and it is also desirable to providemeans for limiting the relative movement of the anvil members to certainpredetermined positions.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2: and 3 of the drawings, a stand is providedhaving a base I connected to which is an upstanding tube or shaft 2suitably braced to the base I. Mounted on the shaftv 2A and arranged forrotation there.- about, as well as. for adjustment lengthwise of theshaft 2, is a fitting 3 consisting of a tubular member whose insideconfiguration and size substantially conformsl to the exteriorconfiguration and size. of the shaft 2. In the embodiment shown. aplurality of holes 4 extend through the shaft 2 and, in order toposition the fitting 3 vertically relative to the shaft 2, a suitablepin 5 may be inserted in any selected one of the holes l. If itis alsodesired to restrain the fitting 3 against rotational movement aboutshaft 2, a. series of suitable indentations may be provided in the lowersurface of the fitting 3.

Suitably secured to the fitting 3 is a shaft i5v extending laterallyoutward from the shaft 2. Arranged upon the shaft 6 for rotation thereonis an anvil member 'l which, in the embodiment shown, consists of acylinder having its outer end tapered as shown at 8 and having a ange 9provided at the opposite extremity. The cylindrical surface of the anvilmember 1 is interrupted with an abutment l0, which it will beunderstood' may 'be of any desired size or shape, conforming to anirregularity on the interior surface of the Work piece to be operatedupon', thus to orient the work pieces upon the anvil 1.

On the interior of anvil 1v suitable plates or spiders may be providedextending to and forming a bearing surface for cooperation with shaft 6and any suitablel means may be provided on the outer end of shaft 6 forholding the anvil l in position thereon, it being preferable to providea holding means which is easily released to permit the replacement ofthe anvil 'l with one of a different size or shape, such as toaccommodate different work pieces.

In order to limit the relative rotational movement of anvil 1 aboutshaft 6 a series of apertures or indentations II is provided about ange9, and a detent member I2 mounted in a flange I3 on the fitting 3 isprovided for selective engagement with any one of the indentations II.The detent member may be of any suitable spring biased construction suchas that shown in Fig. 3, where the tendency of the spring is to urge thedetent member I 2 into firm engagement with the indentation II but theengagement may nevertheless be released by the application of a forcewhich compresses spring I4.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, the stand with its adjunct fitting 3 andshaft 6 are as shown in Fig. 1, the anvil 1, however, having beenreplaced by a radially expansible anvil now to be described and as shownin detail in Fig. 5.

Mounted upon shaft 6 and preferably secured against rotation thereon isa bracket 20. 'I'he lower end of the bracket 20 is provided with a hingepin 2I upon which are mounted supporting arms 22 and 23 respectivelyconnected to anvil members 24 and 25. As is clearly shown in Fig. theanvil members 24 and 25 are provided with incomplete cylindrical worksurfaces. While the configuration and size of such work surfaces dependupon the interior configuration and size of the work piece, it will beunderstood that the exterior work surfaces of anvil members 2li and 25are substantially complemental and arranged for relative movement abouthinge pin 2l. In the embodiment shown in the drawing the anvil members24 and 25 are biased toward each other by spring 26. In order to forcethe anvil members 24 and 25 apart against the action of spring 26 anysuitable power means such as the air pressure cylinder 21 may beprovided. The cylinder 21 may be of the dual piston type, wherein airunder pressure is admitted between the pistons to force them apart, andthe pistons are each provided with a rod 28, 29, which in turn engagethe respective anvil members as shown at 30 and 3l so as to push thesame apart when air under pressure is admitted to cylinder 21. Betweenthe cylinder 21 and any suitable source of compressed air is a controlvalve 32 having a hand lever 33 arranged to extend in a positionconvenient for manipulation. It will be understood that the hand lever33 in the embodiment shown extends out of the face of the mechanism, andwhen in one position admits air to cylinder 21 while in another positionair is released from cylinder 21.

In order to limit the relative movement of the anvil members 24 and 25 astrut extends between the same having a lost motion connection with oneor both of the anvil members. In the embodiment shown such a strutconsists of a pair of clevises 34 and 35 provided respectively withslots 36 and 31. Said slots accommodate pins 38 and 39 mountedrespectively in the anvil members 24 and 25. Extending between clevises34 and 35 is a turnbuckle 40 with its co-operating screws. With thisarrangement when the pins 38 and 39 engage the outermost ends of theslots 36 and 31 the anvil members 24 and 25 can move no farther apart.Conversely, when the pins 38 and 39 engage the inner extremities of theslots 36 and 31 the anvil is completely contracted. In

the operation of the device beginning with the completely contractedposition, the hand lever 33 may be thrown to the position whereat airunder pressure is admitted to cylinder 21. Thereupon the rods 28 and 29move outwardly and force the anvil members 24 and 25 away from eachother, each rotating about pin 2l as a pivot. When it is desired tocontract the anvil member the hand lever 33 may be thrown to theposition whereat air under pressure is released, and thereupon thetension exerted by spring 26 pulls the anvil members 24 and 25 togetheruntil further movement in that direction is obstructed by the strut 34,40, 35.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that those skilled in theart will readily understand the construction and operation of theapparatus of the present invention and appreciate the advantagesthereof.

While a complete disclosure of two forms of anvil is herein given itmust be understood that the invention Ais not limited to the precisedetails of such disclosure but it is contemplated that those skilled inthe art may make modifications and variations therein without departingfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope thereof, as dened in theappended claims.

The invention having thus been described, I claim:

1. A device of the kind described comprising, a standard, a fittingadjustable vertically on said standard, a shaft extending radially fromsaid tting, said fitting comprising a tubular portion telescopicallyarranged on the standard whereby the shaft is capable of being adjustedcircumferentially about the standard, an expansible anvil member mountedon said shaft, and means for expanding said anvil and maintaining thesame expanded.

2. A device of the kind described comprising, a standard, a nttingadjustable vertically on said standard, a shaft extending radially fromsaid fitting and adjustable circumferentially about said standard, aplurality of arcuate anvil members to substantially complement eachother, floating connections between said anvil members and said shaft,power means for spreading said anvil members apart, and means forlimiting the relative movement of said anvil members to less than thefull stroke of said power means.

ROBERT F. HOLLIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 341,978 Wilson May 18, 1886350,961 Wilson Oct. 19, 1886 507,605 Wilson Oct. 31, 1893 645,993Bartlett Mar. 27, 1900 676,197 Mill June 11, 1901 1,383,280 Asplin et alJuly 5, 1921 1,664,738 Deline Apr. 3, 1928 y1,664,739 Deline Apr. 3,1928 2,392,070 Snyder Jan. 1, 1946

